Triplett v. Johnson

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

Triplett v. Johnson

Opinion

USCA1 Opinion




September 29, 1992 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]






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No. 92-1163

HAVEN TRIPLETT,

Plaintiff, Appellant,

v.

PHILLIP W. JOHNSON, ETC., ET AL.,

Defendants, Appellees.


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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

[Hon. A. David Mazzone, U.S. District Judge]
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Before

Breyer, Chief Judge,
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Campbell, Senior Circuit Judge,
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and Selya, Circuit Judge.
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Haven Triplett on brief pro se.
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Scott Harshbarger, Attorney General, and Susan B. Carnduff,
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Assistant Attorney General, on Motion for Summary Decision and
Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Decision, for appellees.


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Per Curiam. Plaintiff is not entitled to relief in
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the present forum concerning his complaint that Mount

Wachusett Community College (MWCC) wrongfully retained PELL

grant funds because no private right of action is implied

under the PELL Grant Program. L'ggrke v. Benkula, 966 F.2d
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1346 (1st Cir. 1992).

As for plaintiff's complaints that MWCC cancelled

courses, refused free CLEP tests, failed to credit Elkins

Institute courses, and did not issue a certificate of

completion, plaintiff has failed to state any cognizable

federal claim. No state statute or regulation confers on

plaintiff a property or liberty interest in receiving any

particular instructional course, college credits, or a

certificate of completion. To the contrary, the statutes on

which plaintiff relies grant broad discretion to defendants

to determine what types of programs to offer. Nor need we

determine whether MWCC violated any contractual agreement it

may have had with plaintiff because a mere breach of contract

of the sort claimed would not give rise to a 1983 claim for

deprivation of property without due process. San Bernardino
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Physicians' Services Medical Group, Inc. v. County of San
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Bernardino, 825 F.2d 1404 (9th Cir. 1987); Jimenez v.
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Almodovar, 650 F.2d 363, 370 (1st Cir. 1981) ("A mere breach
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of contractual right is not a deprivation of property without

constitutional due process of law . . . . Otherwise,
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virtually every controversy involving an alleged breach of

contract by a government or a governmental institution or

agency or instrumentality would be a constitutional case.").

Affirmed.
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Reference

Status
Published